[24395] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] Hazing, APO & 1938
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Peter Burger)
Sun Jul 25 12:08:17 2004
X-MailScanner-From: pburger@mail.mma.edu
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 10:54:50 EST
Reply-To: pburger@mma.edu
From: Peter Burger <pburger@mma.edu>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
> following durites: Each to go into the woods and make a bed
> and sleep alone all night; to carve upon a pieces of wood the
> greek letters of Alpha Phi Omega and wear said piece around
> the neck supended by thin branches, vines or other native
> material, and to have a fire started by 8 a.m. the following morning.
>
> The pledges were the dismissed and the active members
> were not speak to any of them until the initiation ceremony
> in the morning.
This sounds a lot like the Order of the Arrow induction ceremony/rites
(called "Ordeal") in the Boy Scouts of America. That, of course, may make since
because the OA has been around since before 1934 in the BSA. Ordeal includes
sleeping on your own outside, a day of 'arduous labor', a 24 hour vow of
silence, 24 hours of fasting (scant food for 24 hours), among other things.
Some OA lodges even make their inductees carve a small arrow out of wood to
wear around their necks for the 24 hour period to indicate that they are
undergoing their Ordeal (Mandan Lodge at Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch of the Sante
Fe Trail Council does this, for example).
From the OA Website:
"The induction ceremony, called the Ordeal, is the first step toward full
membership. During the experience, candidates maintain silence, receive small
amounts of food, work on camp improvement projects, and are required to sleep
alone, apart from other campers. The entire experience is designed to teach
significant values."
Anyway, thought the parallels were interesting.
YiLFS,
Peter Burger
Phi Epsilon
Chapter
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